The first Texas Hold’Em deck was supposedly dealt in the early 1900s. The game and its strategies have dramatically changed since then.
However, one strategy you won’t find back then is calculating the probabilities of getting one distinct hand. It’s a hand with five sequential cards of the same suit, also known as the second-strongest hand you can earn in online poker. Read on to learn more about the odds and probability of a straight flush.
HOW STRAIGHT FLUSHES WORK
This article will cover typical poker hands in the poker variant of Texas Hold’Em. It will not cover any other poker variant with wild cards, etc.
When you play poker in this format, two cards are drawn along with five community cards, which sit on the poker table for all players to see.
These seven cards help you build the strongest hard possible. Between your two cards and three cards on the table, you must make certain five-card hands to beat your opponents to the pot. Each distinct hand can be higher than another, according to poker hand rankings.
A straight flush is one of several possible five-card poker hands you can draw from a standard deck.
WHAT IS STRAIGHT FLUSH MADE OF?
A straight flush is formed out of a total number of five cards from a 52-card deck. These five cards must be of one given suit. In addition, you must be able to count these cards in a sequence.
This hand is very rarely dealt as it has very low odds. For this reason, the straight flush is considered the second-highest value hand you can earn, only beaten by a royal flush.
WHAT ARE THE STRAIGHT FLUSH ODDS?
It is very important to note that the odds of a straight flush are crucial, especially when formulating a poker strategy. They help you make informed decisions when you’re playing with those seven cards, as you’d be able to understand the likelihood of drawing this hand while you play. Your odds of drawing a straight flush are 72,192.3-to-1.
As you can see, these odds are pretty low. While this hand can almost guarantee a win, you must always bet responsibly.
WHAT IS THE PROBABILITY OF A STRAIGHT FLUSH?
Poker probability is a bit different than poker odds. Probability is the same measurement but expressed as a percentage, making these figures a lot easier to understand, especially for newbies still trying to find their way around the odds. The probability of earning a straight flush is 0.00139%.
ONLY ROYAL FLUSH IS STRONGER
A royal flush sits at the top of the poker hand hierarchy. The 10 different winning poker hands have the following ranks:
- Royal Flush
- Straight Flush
- Four of a Kind
- Full House
- Flush
- Straights
- Three of a kind
- Two pair
- Pair
- High card
Royal flushes consist of the cards 10, jack, queen, king, and ace. These cards must all be in one suit.
Technically, you can call this five-card poker hand a royal straight flush. But it’s better to treat royal flushes and straight flushes as distinct hands as the probability of both hands varies greatly.
WHAT IS A KING-HIGH STRAIGHT FLUSH?
A king-high straight flush is a straight flush that ends with the king high card. Five cards in sequential order of the same suit that end with an ace is a royal flush. So, king-high straight flushes are the highest possible straight flushes that you can earn.
STRAIGHT FLUSH OR FLUSH — WHICH IS BETTER?
Looking back at the Texas Hold’Em Poker hand rankings in the sections above, you’ll clearly see which of the two hands holds a higher standing. The flush five-card poker hand sits fifth in the rankings, below the royal flush, straight flush, four-of-a-kind, and full house poker card hands. In comparison, the straight flush is the second-highest hand on the list. So, straight flushes are better than flushes.
TEXAS HOLD’EM STRAIGHT FLUSH HIT PROBABILITY
After the starting hand is dealt, there are still more cards to draw. The dealer will flip the five cards on the table over as the game goes on.
The first three cards are dealt on the flop. The pair turned after the flop is the turn and river. You can calculate the probability of hitting a straight flush on each of the community cards.
For example, the probability of hitting the straight flush on the flop may range anywhere from 0.005% and 0.02%. Conversely, the probability of hitting a straight flush on the turn or river may range between 2.1% and 4.4%, which are arguably much better odds yet still quite low.
Note that this is also heavily based on the hole cards you begin with.
CONCLUSION — HAND RANKING AFFECTS YOUR CHANCES
As you can see, the odds and probabilities of winning are slightly more in your favour if you get a royal flush than a two pair, pair, high card, etc. But higher-ranked hands have a much lower probability of actually being dealt.
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FAQ
✅ IS A STRAIGHT FUSH BETTER THAN A FLUSH?
Does a flush beat a straight, or does a straight beat a flush? In a game of flush vs straight flush, the straight flush easily wins. You only need to look back at that ranking of possible hands to understand why this is the case.
A straight flush hand is the second-best possible hand. A flush is the fifth-best possible hand. So when it comes to a choice of straight flush or flush, you need to choose the straight flush hand.
✅ HOW MANY STRAIGHT FLUSH COMBINATIONS ARE THERE?
There are a number of ways that you can make a poker straight flush hand. You can use math to calculate the total number of possible straight flushes you can make.
There are four suits in a 52-card deck: spades, clubs, diamonds, and hearts. Each suit has 13 cards. You can make a straight flush poker hand 10 times.
After you’ve figured this out, you can multiply the number of possible straight flushes by the number of suits:
10 (possibilities) × 4 (suits) = 40 possible straight flushes.
✅ ARE FIVE CONSECUTIVE CARDS OF DIFFERENT SUITS ALSO A STRAIGHT FLUSH?
Flushes and straight flushes are distinct hands. Poker hands with cards in sequential order of different suits are straight poker hands. You need five-card hands with cards of sequential order and of the same suit to make straight flush hands.
Straights are still good five-card hands. A straight is the sixth-best hand in the Texas Hold’Em card hierarchy. It sits right above three-of-a-kind.
✅ IS IT TRUE THAT A FLUSH STRAIGHT IS A VERY RARE HAND?
Yes! You can look back up in the article to see how slim the odds of straight flush hands are.
✅ DOES A STRAIGHT FLUSH SUIT MATTER?
No, the suit of a straight flush does not affect ranking. When you’re playing Texas Hold’Em, you need to count the card ranking instead. The order of poker cards in all four suits, from lowest to highest, goes like this: 2-3-4-5-6-7-8-9-10-jack-queen-king-ace.
And higher cards beat lower cards. So if two players have straight flushes, this draw can disappear because of the ranking of the five cards. For example, a straight flush that starts with the lowest card (two) will not win over one that includes an ace and jack.